Patron Capital confirms joint-venture acquisition of MFG

09 January, 2012

Patron Capital, the pan-European institutional investor focused on property-backed investments, has confirmed its acquisition of Top 50 independent fuel retailer Motor Fuels Group Limited (MFG) in a joint venture with a new management team backed by oil industry veteran, Alasdair Locke.

MFG is the fifth largest chain of independent petrol filling stations in the country. It owns and operates 58 mostly freehold petrol filling stations and associated convenience retailing stores located throughout the UK.

Patron provided the majority of the equity for the transaction alongside Alasdair Locke and

members of the management team. Debt finance was provided by Investec Growth &

Acquisition Finance, part of Investec Bank plc. Financial terms of the transaction are not

disclosed.

The Board of MFG now comprises forecourt sector investors William Bannister and Tom

Biggart of Scottish Capital Group in the executive positions of chief executive officer and

chief investment officer, with Alasdair Locke and Tim Allan of Scottish Capital Group

assuming the roles of non-executive chairman and director respectively. In addition, to

support Patron Capital and the MFG management team’s plans to grow the business via

capital expenditure and acquisitions, MFG has agreed to hire Jeremy Clarke as its managing

director. Jeremy will join MFG once he has fulfilled his contractual obligations to Murco UK

Special Situations, said:“This transaction is an excellent example of the real estate-backed operating business investments that Patron Capital seeks, with significant opportunities for growth in a

fragmented and consolidating sector.”

Alasdair Locke said:“With the experienced management team we have assembled and the powerful backing of Patron Capital and Investec Bank, we are confident that we will significantly grow the size

and performance of MFG over the coming years.”

New CEO William Bannister added:“MFG is a great business that we see forming a sound platform for significant expansion in the UK fuel forecourt sector. These are challenging times but I am sure that with the strong financial backing we enjoy and with our new, high-calibre management team, we have acombination that has tremendous potential.”